Third time's the charm for B&W

This neat all-in-one soundbar excels with music and big movie audio, says Steve May

- Steve May

Bowers & Wilkins' Panorama 3 soundbar may not come with a subwoofer, but it still drops deep. I've got Bad Guy booming out, and the bass beat on this Billie Eilish 'banger' is brutal. The instrumentation is minimal, but the 'bar still spreads it wide, musical flourishes placed far apart. It's a reassuringly raunchy musical performance for what is ostensibly a home cinema product aimed at the no-fuss streaming movie market.

Self evidently the third iteration of B&W's flagship soundbar, it's unquestionably the best. The first Panorama launched back in 2009, the second model some four years later, its reappearance blessed with an HDMI connection for the first time.

This latest addition is the first to embrace Dolby Atmos (but not DTS:X), and it's a game-changing refinement. Spatial audio, be it straight Atmos, or an upscale of 5.1 or stereo source material, allows this speaker to sound larger and more impressive - but you'll need a big TV to partner it.

At 1,210mm wide, the Panorama 3 is a sizable beast. Ideally, you wouldn't want to use it with anything smaller than a 65 screen. You'll need wide AV furniture too unless you intend to wall mount, for which a bracket is included in the box. The 'bar weighs a significant 6.5kg.

As you'd expect from the manufacturer, the build quality and finish is excellent. There are pleasing angles to its chassis that help it appear sleeker than it actually is. The soundbar's forward-facing driver array is hidden behind an acoustic fabric wrap, while the top plate is perforated metal - you can just about see the upfiring height drivers if you squint.

At the centre of the 'bar is a capacitive touch panel with a proximity sensor that causes the display to light up when your digits approach. A quick wave reveals volume controls, a multifunction source select button and power.